Cleansed
by Aiko Yamarashi
Summary: The rain is supposed to be cleansing, but having someone who's always there can work just as well.


**Is it too late to contribute to this fandom? I do not own Bleach, the characters, or anything associated. This is purely fan-made.**

xXx

Hitsugaya knew exactly where to find her.

Walking up to the old shrine in Rukongai where they used to live, he found his childhood friend sitting on the porch in the rain, looking up at the sky.

He walked up behind her, waiting for her to pick up on his reiatsu, but she never turned around. Going for a slightly more direct approach, he cleared his throat, but she still didn't turn around. He felt a pang in his chest as he started to wonder if she'd slipped back into a coma. She'd only been awake for a couple of weeks. The fourth division still kept her in their barracks, making sure that she was mentally stable. They started letting her go out and get fresh air for an hour a day, but today she didn't return.

He was about to say something when she suddenly spoke: "I know you're there, Shiro-chan."

He resisted the urge to snap back, "That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you," like he usually would, but instead settled for, "Everyone's looking for you, Hinamori."

She sighed, continuing to watch the rain fall, blinking when it fell in her eyes. "I'm beginning to like the rain."

He raised an eyebrow, continuing to watch her from behind under the awning that protected him from the rain.

When he didn't speak, she continued, "Nobody can tell if you're crying; everything just kind of runs together."

"Don't cry, Bed-Wetter," he grumbled, leaning back against the doorframe behind him.

He saw the corner of her sad smile. She hadn't turned around to look at him.

"People say the rain is supposed to be cleansing," she said, the sad smile slowly disappearing from her face. "It's supposed to symbolize a new start. But I don't feel cleansed, and I still feel trapped in the past."

Hitsugaya sighed, stepping out in the rain to stand behind her. "I think it will only cleanse you if you allow it too."

She finally switched her position and looked down at the clenched fists in her lap, trembling.

"I can't help it, Shiro-chan. The way people look at me keeps holding me back. It reminds me of everything that happened no matter how hard I try to forget it. And then every time I close my eyes, the scene replays constantly: his blade through my chest, his smile turning slowly more chaotic…Why can't I just be cleansed? Why can't I start over?"

Hitsugaya made a mental note to pummel anyone who gave Hinamori a strange look, and then slowly lowered himself to sit beside her. He'd seen her cry so many times, but never quite knew how to fix it. He'd usually just let her throw herself at him and then waited for her to cheer herself up. If he didn't push her away, she'd get her fill of whatever she needed, and her smile would slowly find its way back to her face. But this time was different. She was so enclosed and didn't show any signs of turning to him at all.

With a slight scowl, Hitsugaya lifted his arm slowly and wrapped it around her shoulders. It was an awkward motion, and he turned his head away for the off chance that she'd look at him and catch the blush spreading across his face.

He felt her tense underneath his grip, and he hoped it was just from the shock of his actions and not because she was uncomfortable. When she didn't relax, he took the chance to look at her and found her staring back at him.

Feeling the heat rising to his features again, he looked down and mumbled, "Um, you always liked to hug me when you were sad, so I figured…you know…but we were little, so maybe you don't… I don't know."

She smiled at his awkward behavior and relaxed against him. His sigh of relief went unnoticed.

"Thank you, Shiro-chan," she said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the rain and feeling it wash over them.

Hitsugaya broke the silence. "Unohana-taicho said you were going to come find me."

Hinamori swallowed and admitted, "I told them I was going to go see you on my break so they wouldn't follow me."

"Oh, Bed-Wetter," Hitsugaya sighed. "You know they're never going to let you leave the grounds again after this little episode."

She sat up, sliding his arm off of her shoulders. "I know. I didn't plan on being gone this long, but I thought maybe this place would make me feel better. So much time passed, and I still kept waiting."

"Stop moping!" Hitsugaya finally snapped, springing to his feet.

Hinamori gasped and fell back on her hands, staring at him in shock. "Sh-Shiro-chan?"

He stared at the horror on her face and felt himself calming down. He didn't mean to frighten her, but his patience was running thin.

"Hinamori," he spoke lowly, his calm voice finally returning, "stop feeling sorry for yourself."

She bit her lip and looked to the side, avoiding his blue-green eyes. "I'm sorry, Shiro-chan," she breathed.

She was right about the rain: he couldn't tell if she was crying or not.

Hitsugaya sighed, returning to his seat beside her and drawing her to him again.

"Everyone's stares make you feel alone, don't they?" he asked after a short period of silence.

She didn't respond for a minute, and then slowly nodded against his side.

"I know how that feels," he told her. "I had a lot of stares like that…until you came along."

"You had, Obaa-chan," she mumbled.

"But there was only so much she could do," he chuckled. "It was nice to have someone closer to my age. It still is."

She pulled away again, this time to smile at him. "I guess I'm not as alone as I feel, huh?"

"Exactly," he said. "However, you will be alone if you don't return to the fourth division barracks soon because I'm going to leave you here to freeze in the rain."

She laughed, and it was music to his ears. He gave her a hand up and personally walked her back to the fourth division. The only stares she got were ones that held relief.

XxX

Hitsugaya was right about Hinamori not being able to leave the grounds again after that little episode. However, about once a week, Hitsugaya managed to talk Unohana into letting him take Hinamori for a walk around the Seireitei as long as he managed to get her back by a certain time.

"It's like you're a young couple dating!" Matsumoto cooed to him one day, wrapping him in a surprise hug. "And Unohana-taicho is Hinamori's mom!"

Hitsugaya's eye twitched as a blush rose on his face. "We're _not_ dating." He shoved Matsumoto off of him. "And Unohana-taicho is _not_ Hinamori's mother."

"Good thing," Matsumoto laughed. "You two crazy kids wouldn't be able to get away with anything."

His twitch didn't stop. "We're _not _dating."

"What do you two do on your little dates anyway? Just walk?"

"They're _not_ dates."

"Taicho, you need to think of something more original and fun or else she's going to leave you."

"We're _not _dating."

"She's the only girl that you've shown interest in or that's ever shown interest in you, so you can't let this opportunity pass you by. Hmm, I think I saw some books in the World of the Living about what kind of dates you could go on. I'll pick some up for you next time I—"

"MATSUMOTO!"

She jumped back at her superior's outbreak and then started laughing.

"For the last time, Hinamori and I ARE NOT DATING!" He rubbed his temples until Matsumoto's words suddenly dawned on him. He felt his face heat up and refused to look at his lieutenant. "D-Do you really th-think she shows an interest in me?"

"TAICHOOOO!" She cheered giddily clinging to him.

"GET OFF!"

xXx

On each one of Hitsugaya and Hinamori's outings, Hinamori's precious smiles popped up more frequently. Hitsugaya never thought he'd lived life without them at one point.

"Perhaps you should drink more milk, Shiro-chan," Hinamori said thoughtfully, tapping a finger to her chin. "Unohana-taicho says it's supposed to be good for your bones and help you grow."

Hitsugaya choked and then glared at nothing. "Are you calling me short, Bed-Wetter Momo?"

"Would you prefer 'vertically-challenged'?" she giggled.

He was ready to strangle something, but all stressful thoughts faded when he caught sight of her smiling at him. He truly did miss her smiles.

"You're so fun to tease, Shiro-chan!" she said, patting him on the head.

He swatted her hand away. "That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you!"

She giggled, recognizing the comeback after weeks of getting away with calling him "Shiro-chan."

"You know, Unohana-taicho says there are these things in your ankles called growth plates that she can x-ray," Hinamori told him. "She says that if they're closed off or something like that, it means you've stopped growing."

He was going to kill Unohana. "Why is she telling you all of these things?"

The light blush on her face almost went unnoticed by the captain. _Almost_. "We talk about you sometimes," she mumbled.

"You talk about my height?" he grumbled, despite his blush matching Hinamori's.

"U-Unohana-taicho is the one who brought it up!" she defended. Wasn't she teasing him a minute ago?

He shook his head, attempting to shakes out any thoughts of Unohana and Hinamori gossiping about him. "Whatever," he mumbled.

"Um, Shiro-chan," she suddenly said after both of their blushes faded.

"Yes, Bed-Wetter Momo?"

"Thank you for always taking me out on a walk."

He glanced at her and found her smiling at him again. "You're welcome."

XxX

Hinamori was released from her probation period about three months after awakening from her coma. She and Hitsugaya's periodic walks ended shortly after her release. Now that she was back to her division, it was her job as a lieutenant to take over the duties of her missing captain. Hinamori was so busy with the neglected duties of her division and new assignments to defeat hollows that she rarely saw anyone outside of her division anymore.

One day, she looked forward to submitting a letter of apology to the tenth division captain after a member of her division performed some version of misconduct after attending one of Matsumoto's drinking parties. Delivering this letter meant she got to see her Shiro-chan again.

She entered the tenth division captain's office with a smile, but was only greeted by a snoring Matsumoto on the couch. Searching the office carefully, Hinamori tentatively approached the couch with the sleeping lieutenant.

"Um, Rangiku-san?" Hinamori called, lightly tapping her friend.

The tenth division lieutenant quickly sprang up, nearly smacking Hinamori in the face.

"Taicho? What is it? What's wrong?" Matsumoto asked frantically.

"Rangiku-san, it's just me," Hinamori said, drawing the orange-haired woman's attention to her.

"Ah, Hinamori, were you the one calling me?"

"Yes. Didn't you sense my presence?"

Matsumoto thought about it for a moment. "Hmm, nope!"

Hinamori fought back the urge to face-palm. "Do you know where Hitsugaya-kun is?"

"Taicho? He just left to go to a captain's meeting," Matsumoto informed her, settling back down on the couch now that she knew there was no threat.

Hinamori felt her excitement fade upon realizing that she wouldn't be able to see her childhood friend.

"Oh, that's alright then," the black-haired lieutenant said, pretending to still show her enthusiasm. "It wasn't extremely important. I'll just leave this on his desk."

"Come on, you've been working so hard lately," Matsumoto told her, motioning for the younger girl to sit next to her. "Why don't you take a little break and wait for him to come back?"

"I don't know, Rangiku-san," Hinamori said, scratching the back of her head. "There's a lot of work I still need to do."

"Nonsense!" the older shinigami insisted. "Take a load off! I'll make you some tea. Taicho will be back before you know it!"

Hinamori sighed. She hadn't seen her childhood friend in so long, so part of her wanted to wait and see him. The more studious part of her nagged that she had work to finish and didn't have time to be loafing around. She was almost caught up on the work that needed to be completed since she'd been detained in the fourth division barracks.

While Hinamori was weighing the options in her head, she didn't notice the other lieutenant had left the room until she was returning with a tray with two cups of tea on it.

"Here," Matsumoto said, handing Hinamori a cup. "I thought this would help you relax a little."

"Thank you, Rangiku-san!" Hinamori said with a light bow. She couldn't be rude and pass up the offer.

Hinamori settled next to Matsumoto on the couch, and they each sipped their tea in silence, enjoying each other's company.

"So, Hinamori," Matsumoto broke the silence, "what do you think of taicho?"

Hinamori nearly choked on her tea, but managed a calm answer, "He's my childhood friend."

"But that's not what you _think_ of him," the older lieutenant pointed out. "Is he cute, funny, or, you know, something along those lines?"

"You should know these things about him, Rangiku-san," Hinamori said innocently.

"Well, I know what _I_ think of him, but what do _you_ think of him?" Matsumoto pushed.

"Why does it matter?" the younger lieutenant asked with the same level of innocence.

"Just curious," Matsumoto told her, shrugging and taking another sip of her tea, feigning disinterest.

"Well, he's really sweet and a great friend," Hinamori said with a small smile. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

Matsumoto had to hide a twitch. "Well, _technically_, but don't you think— "

The door slid open, effectively cutting off the orange-haired lieutenant.

"Matsumoto, I'm back," Hitsugaya announced, sliding the door shut behind him and walking over to his desk.

"Taicho!" Matsumoto greeted.

"Hello, Shiro-chan!" chimed in Hinamori.

"What are you doing here, Hinamori?" the captain asked, completely missing the young girl's presence until she spoke.

"She's been talking with me," Matsumoto informed him, slinging an arm around the younger lieutenant's shoulders.

"Great," Hitsugaya mumbled with a twitch before sitting behind his desk.

"I actually came to deliver this report," Hinamori said, joining him at his desk and handing him the sheet of paper.

The young captain glanced over the form quickly before setting it to the side of his desk. "Thank you."

"No problem," Hinamori said, but she couldn't help her draining enthusiasm. He didn't seem excited to see her at all.

"Is something wrong?" Hitsugaya asked, noticing the change in her mood.

"W-What? No, of course not!" the young lieutenant lied, gesturing with her hands for added effect. "It's great to see you again, Shiro-chan!"

She almost missed the small smile on his face as he turned to his onslaught of paperwork. "You too, Bed-Wetter Momo."

Hinamori scowled at the nickname, but missed it nonetheless. Before she left, Hinamori did something that surprised all three people in the room: she hugged Hitsugaya. The young captain gave her a light pat on the back in return, and then watched her exit his office.

"She likes you," Matsumoto said to her captain.

A light blush found its way to Hitsugaya's cheeks. "Get to work."

xXx

Hitsugaya saw Hinamori from time to time, usually in passing or when one of them had to deliver something to the other. He'd rarely see her whenever he allowed Matsumoto to host a "social gathering," which usually ended in Kira, Hisagi, and Matsumoto passed out drunk until the morning while he and the rest of the attendants were forced into clean-up duty. There were even a few occasions when he and his childhood friend had enough free time to enjoy a walk through Seireitei.

When he didn't see Hinamori for about a month, he discovered in a captain's meeting that it was because divisions three, five, and nine were each reinstating the captains they had before the three treacherous ones took their places. With the downfall of Aizen, Hinamori could now work under a new captain and wouldn't have to do twice the work to make up for the missing leader.

Hinamori would now work under Hirako Shinji, and because both had personally dealt with Aizen's treacherous schemes, Hitsugaya had no doubt they'd make a perfect pair.

Hitsugaya thought back to the day he found her curled up in the rain at the shrine, defying Unohana's parole regulations. He remembered how she talked about wanting to be "cleansed." He thought, "Maybe this is her opportunity."

In honor of instating the new captains, Hinamori, Kira, and Hisagi decided to throw a large, joint celebration, and everyone in Seireitei was invited. Being the booze-enthusiasts that Kira and Hisagi were, there was bottomless sake.

Hitsugaya weaved through the crowd of drunk people, searching for the only other person he knew didn't drink (besides Yachiru, but even that was questionable).

Just as he was about to give up looking—he could've sworn he'd searched the entire crowd twice—he heard a distant, "Shiro-chan!" from behind him.

He whirled around just in time to catch Hinamori from her running hug. A light blush spread over his face for the umpteenth time as he dealt with the young lieutenant.

"Shiro-chan!" she greeted again now that she was actually in front of him.

She released him, allowing him to draw enough breath back in to greet her with, "Hey, Bed-Wetter Momo."

Her face twisted into a disgusted expression. "I don't do that anymore!"

"And, once again, you should call me Hitsugaya-taicho," he retorted, victoriously smirking.

Hinamori stamped her foot and turned away from him, nothing short of throwing a tantrum. However, the action caused him to focus his attention on something he somehow missed before.

"You cut your hair," the young captain pointed out, flicking his hand through her loose, shoulder-length, black hair, careful not to jostle the clip she hung in it.

"Huh?" she asked, turning back to him and causing her hair to flare out again. "Oh, yeah!" Her face flushed as she looked down at her feet sheepishly. "Do you like it?"

Hitsugaya felt the heat rising to his face again, so he quickly turned away from her before she could notice. "You look beautiful."

Hinamori's headed popped up in shock, eyes wide. "Y-You think so?"

The young captain turned back and looked up at her through his eyelashes, nodding.

Hinamori offered him a large smile. "I was really hoping you'd like it, Shiro-chan!"

"I'd like it better in the glow of a restaurant," Hitsugaya thought, but then caught himself as he did. Did he seriously just think about asking Hinamori on a date?

"Well, it was great seeing you, but I should probably check to make sure Hirako-taicho isn't passed out drunk somewhere." She gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head. "I'll come find you later."

It's now or never, Hitsugaya thought. He caught Hinamori by the wrist just as she was about to leave.

"Um, Momo, I don't know if you're doing anything tomorrow night, but I was thinking maybe we could—"

He was caught off by her finger to his lips and was met with a smile.

"That sounds great," she told him, without even knowing what his plans were. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."

And then she was gone, leaving him standing there like a little kid, dumbfounded with his hand on his cheek.

Looking up at the sky as he waited for time to pass, he noticed it was clear enough to see the stars. He looked back at the retreating form of Hinamori, and, even though it wasn't raining, for some reason he thought she had been cleansed. And, if she wasn't, he was sure he could help her with it, now.

"Way to go, taicho!" he heard his drunk lieutenant cheering behind him. "Celebratory drink on me!"

"I don't drink," he reminded his lieutenant. He didn't need the drink anyway; he was already drunk on the thought of dating Hinamori Momo.


End file.
